Pneumonia readmissions: risk factors and implications

Pneumonia continues to be a severe health problem in the United States, responsible for close to 1 million hospital admissions and nearly 140,000 hospital readmissions per year. The literature on this topic suggests that approximately 1 in 5 patients with pneumonia is readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge and that most readmissions are not because of pneumonia-related causes.

Although many pneumonia readmissions may not be preventable, reducing readmissions is feasible, as shown by recent trends in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.

Modifiable patient-, physician-, and system-related factors can be targeted for intervention.

Many interventions aimed at reducing hospital readmissions targeting transitional care, care coordination, and postdischarge care have shown potential for reducing readmission rates.